Overnight race leader Ryan Aitcheson (Team Ontario) sealed the deal in stellar fashion, winning the final stage in a field sprint to secure his overall victory in the inaugural Centurion U23 Prospect Challenge.

Winner Ryan Aitcheson

By taking two out of three stages, as well as winning the points competition, Aitcheson left little doubt that he was the strongest rider in the field, yet he was quick to praise his team for their support: “A bunch sprint was the plan for the day. I felt we had a strong enough team to pull around for the day, so I was really happy with them.”

“The team made it a little easier, but there were definitely some attacks that made me a little nervous. There were a few attacks that I had to work hard on, but I really wanted to save myself for the end sprint.”

Beginning at Blue Mountain Resort, the 86.6km stage-three road race climbed up and over the Niagara Escarpment and wound its way through the Beaver Valley before returning to the finish.

A breakaway group consisting of Mitchell Bailey, Marc-Antoine Nadon (both Team Ontario), Evan McNeely (Ottawa) and CHCH teammates Adam Jamieson and Jack Burke went clear on the opening climb.

With representatives of both the leader and second-place Ben Perry (CHCH), the break was given a fair amount of leash, holding off the field until the early slopes of the second climb, the five-kilometre grind up to Epping.

At that point, with 50 kilometres left to race, Perry attacked, catching and passing the breakaway. His move sparked a reaction from Matteo Dal-Cin (Ottawa) and GC leader Aitcheson, who caught Perry, forming a powerful trio at the head of the race.

Dal-Cin, who crashed hard in yesterday’s criterium, suffered more misfortune when a mechanical forced him to drop from the break soon after it formed. Thinking that Perry was only interested in KOM points, Aitcheson sat up to wait for the field, but after cresting the climb Perry pushed on by himself, quickly gaining a minute on the field.

“I knew that he wanted to get KOM points,” explained Aitcheson, “So after Matteo had a mechanical and it was just the two of us for a while halfway up the climb, I knew I had a whole team behind me and I just let him get the KOM points and he just kept going. I didn’t think he was going to keep going.”

Team Ontario marshaled their forces to gradually reel in the escapee, catching Perry with 20 kilometres to go. “I told them we didn’t need to bring it back right away,“ said Aitcheson. “He used a really big bullet with that 30k break, and I knew that my team could bring it back before the end.”

Perry admitted afterward that he had been hoping for a different scenario. “If Matteo could have followed me- he’s a workhorse, a powerful guy - it would have been hard for Team Ontario to catch us.”

Once caught, Perry’s teammate William Elliott attacked, gaining 30 seconds, only to have one of his pedals fall off. That bizarre episode only served as a brief lull in the action. Seemingly recovered from his breakaway effort, Perry again threw down the gauntlet, forming a group containing two teammates and Ottawa rider Braydon Bourne.

At that point warning bells began to ring, forcing the yellow jersey to take up the chase. “When the third CHCH rider attacked out of the field, I was very concerned with that, with second place on GC up the road,” confessed Aitcheson. “My teammates were starting to get used up and were pretty tired at that point, so that was one of those moments were I had to go on the front. It worked out well that nobody attacked right after because I was feeling a little gassed after that move.”

Team Ontario managed to hold the field in check, and was rewarded for their efforts by finishing one-two-three on the stage, with Brandon Etzl and Peter Disera following Aitcheson onto the podium.

Although his long-range attack on the Epping climb may have seemed foolish, Perry had no regrets. “I don’t think there was anything else challenging enough on the course. If that climb was at five k to go, that’s where I would have gone.”

Aitcheson was only certain of his participation a few days prior to the event, but was pleased with the final result. “It was a fun weekend. I don’t think I’ve ever been to an Ontario project or at least a race in Ontario where all eight guys were on the same page and we worked as a great team. It was a fantastic weekend for Ontario cycling.”

Race Notes- After damaging his bike in yesterday’s criterium, Perry borrowed that of race director Graham Fraser. Unfortunately it came with compact gearing, which Perry felt cost him time on the descents.

- Unlike last year where he traveled far and wide, Evan McNeely, who attends Carleton University in Ottawa, is planning a cyclo-cross campaign focused on races in the northeast. The Norco Factory Team rider is hoping that by doing so he will be in top form for the National Cyclo-cross Championships in late November.

- The US criterium final in Las Vegas is the next event on Aitcheson’s calendar. He is hopeful of joining in on some national team track projects over the winter, as well as returning to Astellas Oncology Cycling team in 2014.

Report by Emil van Dijk

Results from the third and final stage of the inaugural Centurion U23 Prospect Challenge in Collingwood